Among this year’s Grammy nominees, Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen” epitomizes a rags-to-riches success story. It’s one of the few nominated tracks that, at its inception, was released by an independent artist.

“Trap Queen” charted on Billboard in February 2015, but the song was first uploaded online in April 2014 without any promotion – the DNA of a sleeper hit. What happened in those nine months? How did a high school dropout, with only a couple of years' worth of rapping, rise from anonymity? And, perhaps most importantly, how does a homegrown hit from a small New Jersey city germinate into a full-blown international phenomenon?

To find out, we analyzed the video views for “Trap Queen,” a strong barometer of his popularity, as well as the articles and posts which brought it most attention.

First, let’s examine the ascent of “Trap Queen,” from May 2014 to present day.

Weekly Average Views of “Trap Queen” by Fetty Wap

“Views” is based on both official and fan-uploaded videos claimed using Content ID

“Trap Queen” experienced huge growth in January 2015, but it took eight months to get there. “Trap Queen” may seem like an obvious hit, but from May to December 2014, it was freely available on YouTube, unknown to most of the music community.

Here’s a timeline documenting the track’s views, articles, and social media that spread the video to new audiences.

May 2014

Fetty Wap uploads an audio-only version to YouTube. It receives approximately 1,000 views/day (190,000 total) until he uploads the official music video in August 2014.

During this period, “Trap Queen” is a local hit. 57 percent of his views are from his home state of New Jersey, followed by 25 percent from New York and 2.2 percent from Virginia.

Near the end of December 2014, Trap Queen appears on a number of “best of 2014” lists, including a wrap-up from Huffington Post and Noisey (which called it the “hottest New York record of the year”).

By the end of 2014, “Trap Queen” has received an impressive 2.2 million views, but it still has a long way to go before reaching mainstream status (at the time of writing, it’s been viewed more than 700 million times). The song effectively spent 75 percent of the year under the radar — a perfect example of slow, word-of-mouth growth. But it’s still a local hit, played predominantly in the Northeastern U.S. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New England represent 73 percent of “Trap Queen” plays.

In 2015, however, things quickly change.

January 2015

Views for “Trap Queen” skyrocket to 200,000/day.

Month-to-Month Growth of “Trap Queen” Views

“Views” is based on both official and fan-uploaded videos claimed using Content ID

Having appeared on several prominent end-of-year lists, Fetty is gaining mainstream popularity.

For several weeks, “Trap Queen” has gone head-to-head against other hip-hop tracks on hip-hop site The Boombox. It now enters its Hall of Fame after users vote it superior to songs by Fabolous, J. Cole, Dipset, and Lil Wayne.

February 2015

Views double again, month-to-month, to 400,000/day.

In an interview with i-D, Rihanna says that “Trap Queen” was the last song that she purchased.

During a performance, Kanye West brings Fetty Wap as guest to perform “Trap Queen” at the Roc City Classic in New York City, after declaring it to be his "favorite song right now." Footage of Jay Z and Beyoncé, dancing to Fetty's performance amidst the crowd, emerges.

Florida surpasses New York as the most popular source of “Trap Queen” views. “Trap Queen” reaches national status, spreading to multiple states beyond of the Northeastern U.S.

Views of the Official “Trap Queen” Music Video

August 2014 - July 2015

Once “Trap Queen” broke in New York in January 2015, it quickly spread to surrounding states over the course of next month. For Fetty Wap (and, likely, much of hip-hop), the New York market seemed to be a catalyst for mainstream success.

March 2015

Views reach the 1,000,000/day mark.

Billboard runs an interview with Fetty Wap on March 5, where the rapper expounds on his unique blend of rap and singing: "I just wanted to do something different. Everybody was rapping. Everybody wants to be a rapper so I did something different. I started singing. But I ain't want to be a singer, so I did my own thing."

Fetty, whose Paterson, N.J., roots are often discussed in interviews, is featured on NJ.com. His mother reveals that despite his perpetual modesty about his musical upbringing, Willie Maxwell II — Fetty Wap's real name — had played the piano and sang in the church quartet where his grandfather served as pastor.

“Trap Queen” is nominated for two Grammy Awards in the Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance categories.

Fetty Wap’s path to success was highly unorthodox. Rather than approach his musical career through traditional approaches, Fetty took a more unique route: he promoted the track on social media as far as it would go, and let the excitement of his growing fan base fuel its spread.